Weekly Chat, Sunday December 27 2009

Alan   I guess that you are now very close to latest sunrise? Then we will have evenings and mornings getting lighter.

Tiger : If you take it to 3 decimal points it starts getting lighter in the mornings on 31/12/2009.

FAB

AQ: I have not read the Rebus books but I did enjoy the TV series of Rebus with Ken Stott playing the Edinburgh detective. It must have been really hard for him portraying a Hibs supporter when he really supports the jam tarts (Hearts). 

Speaking of great authors there is an adaptation of John Wyndhams "Day of the Triffids" on BBC1 tonight and tomorrow night at 9.00 p.m. Especially for those of us who have unruly plants in the garden of unknown origin. 

Hallo all: Thin high cloud here again today with yet more vain promises of a sprinkle midweek but won't hold my breath.  I see that Phoebe (Mrs. Hummingbird) is making progress on her nest.  OH modified the exterior filter on our dryer and now we have occasional bits of fluff floating about the patio;  I'm wondering if birds in general like the "dryer fluff" option for their nests. I also comb my hair on the patio and wonder if they use that too. Hmm. Wonder what constitutes "preferred" nesting material.

OG:  May need TI's International Rescue to track down dark chocolate Kit-Kats in the U.S. though suspect that kind of mission low on their priority list!  Glad to report Pacific Ocean still present and accounted for, but Brie now a thing of the past.  Don't worry about craving for pickled onions, when I was pregnant (multiple decades ago!) it was condensed milk that did me in.

George: Oooh. Never tried Danish Blue with digestive. Will follow up with the Ian Rankin (have heard of him) books, which sound up my street.  Snatched up a book by Diane Mott Davidson (light-weight mystery writer in Colorado) at the library yesterday - so pleased with myself - only to find out I'd already read it!  I'm currently reading "La's Orchestra Changes the World" by McCall Smith - none of his usual suspects are in it, but I'm enjoying it. It's set in the UK just as WWII breaks out.

Lindybird: You are so good at welcoming new people - thanks! And hallo Eagle Eye.  I'm relieved to see the refrigerator emptying out a bit.

Gary: I'm amazed this guy with the bomb in his pants got on the plane in the first place. Also, sounds like another RIchard Reed - not the sharpest tool in the box, (but  still dangerous).

Emma: Good to see you; enjoy your NY's Eve party.

Back to catch up later. Take care all.

george g : Hooray, finally found someone else who loves Danish blue with digestive biscuits - delicious!

Late news flash from CNN's Entertainment page: "Boozy grandmas add humor to TV, films" http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/12/28/drinking.grandmothers/index.html  Hey, this is reassuring.

67 viewers on the hummer cam now. Gradually increasing day by day. Phoebe really is a beautiful looking bird. Did not get a chance to look at her properly when she was feeding Jade and Julep. Looking forward to seeing the egg laying and hatching this time as joined it too late last time. It is pretty addictive.

Good Morning Day:

 I hope everyone is doing well or better and a Happy Moonday to all!

Still no sun here but no additional snow either with temps 28f /-2c with wind chill 16f/-9c.

Sherlock Holmes entertained me the whole way through and is very imaginative but it ain't your momma's Sherlock Holmes.  Holmes has an unspecificed addiction (morphine? alcohol? both?) and Watson has a gambling problem so in that sense the affable Nigel Bruce and stoic Rasil Bathbone reneditions are rather campy in comparison to Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. Both of the latter did excellent jobs on their own and also while bantering together and fighting the bad guys. There is very clever use of stop motion photography, lots of whimsical gadgets, some big explosions and the fighting was not bloody. The soundtrack was absolutely brilliant, costuming wonderful and the cinematography I thought was outstanding; stark yet rich all at once.

I would recommend seeing the movie if you like detective/action/ suspense movies and don't mind seeing Holmes and Watson played as good guys but with a very dark side. If it helps any, my sis and brother in-law both over 60 enjoyed it as did my nephew's girlfriend in her mid-20s. I too liked it alot but my nephew didn't.

You can really see the green in Mrs. H's feathers.  I have so many Anna hummingbirds in our garden I'm wondering where they nest. We have lots of dense bushes and the rear feeder empties out much faster than the front one.  According to the following site, Anna's will start building as early as December but more typically February/March. I'll have to do some very delicate detective work. They apparently like to build close to people for protection from hawks,etc. http://biology.suite101.com/article.cfm/nesting_of_annas_hummingbirds_in_san_diego_ca

Morning Caerann: Glad you liked the movie; I'll probably wait to get it on Netflix. Hope you and John are feeling a bit better.